living small and doing big things

Tag Archives: recipes

It’s still snowy and icy around these parts so I’ve been off from my full-time job all this week. It’s been just the thing I needed. I’ve been diving deep into some Amazon Prime movies and TV shows and a few books, of course. I already feel 1,000 times better than I did on Sunday night. And I’ve been scouring the web for the best of the best, of course. Here’s my favorites from this week:

I can’t wait to start hiking again this spring. I’m on the lookout for some cute, inexpensive hiking boots. Is that even a thing? This is the pair Reese Witherspoon wore in Wild and I love them. Perhaps someone will get them for me for my birthday? Hint, hint, nudge, nudge.

Like this:

I know, I know, it’s kind of too hot to break out that Crock-Pot, but sometimes a busy girl has to do what a busy girl has to do. And sometimes that means cranking up the Crock Pot to make Chicken Cacciatore as the thermometer climbs into the 100s. It’s just too easy to use the Crock-Pot on those days when you know that 5,000 things will need your attention and you still have to work out and sleep and be a person. This meal is great for those days because you can throw everything in the Crock-Pot at breakfast and it will be ready for dinner or throw it in the Crock-Pot the night before and take it for lunch. It’s just good planning, people.

(Stupid) Easy Crock-Pot Chicken Cacciatore

Ingredients

1 lb of chicken, cut up in pieces

1 large onion, diced

1 jar of your favorite pasta sauce

6 ounces sliced mushrooms

1 green bell pepper, chopped

2 -4 garlic cloves, minced

2 teaspoons oregano

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Throw everything in the Crock Pot and let cook for approximately 7 hours on low. Serve over pasta, rice or quinoa if you wish. I just eat it plain. No time for all that.

I told ya’ll I was pumpkining all the things. I should just start driving a pumpkin to work, Cinderella style. My rotund orange friend has conveniently snuck in to all sweet and savory dishes that have come out of the Airstream kitchen lately. I’m sorry, husband. He’s such a good sport about it. I think he deserves a pumpkin cupcake.

But that’s not what we’re here to talk about today. Oh no. Today we’re here to talk about creamy, savory, EASY, pumpkin crockpot chili. It’s chilly and it calls for chili.

This pumpkin chili doesn’t taste like a pumpkin pie or anything creepy, like that. The pumpkin just makes the chili thicker and adds a little somethin’ somethin’ to the taste.

Like this:

If there was an Olympics for taking on more than you can handle, I’d be winning the gold, silver and bronze. And it’s my fault, I know. I seek out the craziness. It’s one of my very few character faults. 🙂

I knew this week was going to be brutal, so I planned ahead. I’m also good like that. Here’s one of my favorite plan-ahead breakfasts. It’s great for those days when even making a smoothie is too time-consuming. Just grab, go and heat it up at work before your morning meeting. Or cram it in your mouth while changing lanes on your morning commute.

Brown sausage and sauté your veggies. Wisk eggs, milk and creamer together. Add sausage and veggies to egg mixture. Top with tomatoes if you want to make it look half-way presentable. If not, I won’t judge. This is a working (wo)man’s breakfast. Bake in a preheated oven at 400 degrees until the center is set– about 30 minutes.

Now children, gather round, I’m going to tell you a deeply personal story. Once upon a time in grad school I started to get very, very sick. I had debilitating stomach pain. I was hospitalized several times.I had mysterious rashes, unexplained tiredness and nausea. I knew every bathroom within a 50 mile radius of my apartment. It was a miserable, unpleasant, and downright scary time. Sometimes the stomach pain would get so bad, I would think “ok, this is the end. I’m really lucky I didn’t decide to get a cat so he wouldn’t eat my face off when I die.” Really. I thought that.I saw so many doctors and the inside of more depressing waiting rooms than I care to remember. I had so many tests run and everything came out negative. Many doctors brushed me off. “You’re in your 20s, you are young, it’s just stress,” they’d say. I lived in fear of food and on the recommendation of one doctor, ate a very bland, low-acid diet of peanut butter crackers, bananas and chicken soup.

I was sick for years. YEARS. I lived a miserable dietary existence. I was ready to just accept my fate as a weak, sickly individual until I saw one last doctor. This particular doctor suggested cutting out certain foods to see if my pain stopped. I cut out gluten, dairy and nightshades. My pain disappeared. I had more energy than I had in my entire life. I actually enjoyed eating again.

I worked the nightshades back into my diet with no problem. Then I tried the dairy. Still very little problem as long as I didn’t overdue it. I was scared, but I also tried adding the gluten back into my diet. The stomach pain and nausea came back soon after.

I’ve now been gluten-free for a couple of years. And it’s been glorious. I don’t miss “real” bread, pasta or the pain they once caused me. I eat fresh, beautiful foods without abandon. And guess what?! I cook them all out of my Airstream!

So to make a long story short, I want to share those foods with you in a new column I’m calling “The Gluten-Free RV.” The title makes sense now, huh?!

Thanks for listening, ya’ll. I love you and I hope you’ll enjoy.
melanie

Like this:

I like my milk heavy on the coffee. Is that how that saying goes? No? What I’m trying to say is a big glass of plain, dairy milk makes me cringe.

The first time I encountered horchatas was when I lived in L.A. I was scared to try them because I thought they were a big ol’ glass of watery milk. But we ordered one anyway and boy was I was wrong! Horchatas are refreshing, delicious and made from rice water and almond milk– which I actually enjoy. I also enjoy a little refreshing nip of rum–if you know what I’m saying.

Here’s my recipe for the perfect adult horchata.

Ingredients

1 cup of uncooked long grain rice

5 cups of water

3/4 cup of unsweetened almond milk

1/2 tablespoon of vanilla extract

1 tablespoon of ground cinnamon

1/4 cup of maple syrup

4 shots of your favorite rum (We used Sailor Jerry’s for the nutmeg and cinnamon flavors.)

Pour the rice and water into a blender. Blend the rice until it breaks up, but isn’t total mush– about 1 minute. Let rice and water stand at room temperature overnight.

The next day, strain the rice water into a pitcher. Discard the leftover rice. Whisk the almond milk, vanilla, cinnamon, maple syrup and rum into the rice water. Serve over ice.

I watch the Cooking Channel while running on the treadmill at the gym. I should be embarrassed, but I’m not. No shame in my game.

The other night My Grandmother’s Ravioli was on and Mo Rocca was cooking with two adorable, little Indian women. I absolutely love the flavors of Indian cooking, so I was enthralled. Before the ladies began cooking, they served Mo saffron lemonade. My head almost exploded. I quickly typed it onto the notes on my phone and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it.

I googled their recipe, but I modified it a bit. I try to watch my sugar intake.

Squeeze the lemons, add the sugar, water and saffron, then add a handful of ice and shake. The longer you let the saffron steep in the lemonade, the stronger the flavor will be. I let mine steep about an hour and it turned a gorgeous orange color.

The flavor kind of reminded me of kombucha, but less tart. Saffron lemonade is the perfect spring drink!

Post navigation

hello!

Hi, I'm Melanie! I live in an Airstream travel trailer with my husband, George and our dog, Bambi. We've chosen to live small, so we can live the life of our dreams. You, too, can live a smaller, happier life and I can help you do it!

sign up for my newsletter!

Email address:

follow my blog posts

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Email Address

search

Custom Search

follow me, socially!

popular posts

Purchase My Ebook!

Purchase My Pin!

This blog may contain paid advertising and contextual affiliate links. If you click on a link and make a purchase from an affiliate site, then I may make a commission from that purchase. Affiliate links help to pay for hosting and upkeep of this blog. For more details check out my privacy policy. Thank you for reading.